Sunday, 19 October 2008

SOS Madeleine McCann: Gonçalo Amaral's trial October 24th

The Faro Court today appointed the jurors who will try the five PJ inspectors accused of various crimes, notably for having tortured Joana Cipriano's mother, Leonor, sentenced to 16 years in prison for her daughter's murder.

A firefighter, a driver, a receptionist and an administrator are the four citizens chosen as jurors for the trial which will begin on October 24th.

Amongst the PJ inspectors is Gonçalo Amaral, former coordinator of Portimao's Department of Criminal Investigation (DIC), accused of not having disclosed the alleged assaults on Leonor Cipriano. The other accused are Leonel Lopes, Pereira Cristóvão and Marques Bonne, accused of having tortured Leonor Cipriano, while inspector Nunes Cardoso faces the charge of falsification of a document.

As a replacement for João Grade, Marcos Aragão Correia is now Leonor Cipriano's lawyer. Recently, the lawyer made himself known as a protagonist in the Madeleine McCann case, taking legal action againsts the Portuguese postal services, accusing them of not having correctly delivered a recorded letter addressed to the McCanns in which, according to him, he described leads which could help the investigation. He then launched a search of the Arade Dam, several kilometres from where Madeleine McCann disappeared, finding only rubbish and a few animal bones.

Assistant to the Public Prosecutor in this trial, Marcos Aragão Correia, himself the object of several criminal charges, has requested protective measures for his client and himself, saying he has been threatened: the lawyer gave as proof of the threats of which he is allegedly the victim, an article in the popular press where one of the inspectors allegedly compared him to a dog that needed to be smacked.